Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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427. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to allow schools to appeal a decision to refuse an application for extra teaching resources on the grounds of the number of students with special educational needs at a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46968/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that DES Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post primary schools were published on 7 March 2017.

These Circulars set out the details of the new model for allocating special education teachers to schools. 

The revised allocation process replaces the generalised allocation process at primary and post primary school level for learning support and high incidence special educational needs, and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocation process which provided additional resource teaching supports to schools, to support pupils assessed as having Low Incidence disabilities. 

The new Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile.

Under the new allocation model, schools have been provided with a total allocation for special education needs support based on their school profile.  

The provision of a profiled allocation is designed to give a fairer allocation for each school which recognises that all schools need an allocation for special needs support, but which provides a graduated allocation which takes into account the actual level of need in each school.

Both my Department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) are committed to ensuring all schools are treated equally and fairly in the manner in which their school profiles have been calculated.

Accordingly, a number of review processes have been put in place to support schools.

In March of this year, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) published details of an appeal process for schools.

Schools were advised that this appeal would consider circumstances where schools considered that their school profile was calculated incorrectly, using the data set out in DES Circulars 0013 and 0014 2017. An appeal could be submitted for a review of the information used and of the calculation of the allocation.

Schools who wished to submit an appeal on this basis were asked to do so by 31 March 2017. These appeals have been processed and this appeal process has now concluded.

A second process has been put in place to address circumstances where the school profile significantly changed following the allocation process e.g. a developing school where the net enrolment numbers significantly increased.

The criteria for qualification for mainstream school developing school posts are set out in DES Circular 17/2017 (Primary School Staffing Schedule) and DES 10,11,12/2017 (Post Primary School Staffing Schedule).

Schools who qualified of additional mainstream developing school posts in accordance with these criteria also qualified for additional Special Education Teaching Allocations to take account of this developing status.

Finally, schools were also advised that it acknowledged that there are some circumstances, which may arise in schools, which fall outside the appeals process, or allocations for developing school status.

These relate to exceptional or emergency circumstances which could not have been anticipated e.g. where the school profile changes very significantly, or where other exceptional circumstances have arisen in a school and which may require a review of schools capacity to provide additional teaching support for all pupils who need it in the school, or of their utilisation of their allocations.

The NCSE has now published details of how schools can seek a review of their allocations, including the utilisation of their allocations, in circumstances where a school considers that very exceptional circumstances have arisen subsequent to the development of the profile.

Should a school consider they fulfil the criteria for a review on the grounds of exceptional circumstances, they may request such a review at: .